District Zouk

Gui Prada started dancing in 2004 inspired by the movie "Shall We Dance?". He began to dive deep into dance in 2006 as a work-study trainee of the Jaime Arôxa Dance School in Rio de Janeiro. Jaime Arôxa, one of the creators of Brazilian Zouk, was the head instructor and was a mentor for the most accomplished dancers in Brazil. During his 6 years as a member of the school's team, he learned all Brazilian partner dances (Forró, Samba de Gafieira, Soltinho, Bolero and Zouk) as well as Argentine Tango. After he left the school, he continued dancing and learning from other remarkable instructors, including Fabiano Vivas, Kelly Reis, Érico Rodrigo, Guilherme Pimentel and many others. Since then he has focused his training and research on taking the best of each of these dances and applying it to the close embrace, with the purpose of conveying a sense of well-being and relaxation to dance partners. In 2016 he attended the first Zouk Retreat in Valencia, led by Xandy Liberato, Brenda Carvalho and Anderson Mendes. After that, his research on partner dancing took a new direction, as he continued working with Brenda and Anderson to seek for the application of the concepts explored at the retreat in different ways by using the references of the other Brazilian partner dances and Argentinian Tango. As a result, the importance of the basic steps and concepts became evident, since it is through them that all dances reach another level. Gui is looking forward to sharing his technique and training with students here in Washington DC to help them improve their basics, comfort and confidence on the dance floor.

Ashley Kent has been dancing from an early age, including training in jazz, tap, ballet, modern, west African dance, salsa, kizomba, Brazilian zouk, and lambada. She got hooked on afro-latin partner dancing while living abroad in Ghana and Sudan. When she was introduced to Brazilian zouk in Washington DC in 2012, she fell in love with it. Ashley helped build the thriving Brazilian zouk community that exists in DC today, founding District Zouk in 2014 and offering consistent weekly classes since then. She has continued her own training via trips to Brazil, professional development programs, one-on-one training with some of the top international instructors, and cross-training in other dances. Seeing new people fall in love with Brazilian zouk and lambada and grow in their own dance journey keeps her energized. Ashley loves sharing her love for this dance, building community, encouraging people to learn both roles in partner dances, and creating explosive moments of musicality.

Elena is a Brazilian zouk instructor, performer, and DJ, originally from California. She has a diverse background of many different arts and sports including gymnastics, parkour, ballet/jazz/modern/contemporary dance, and various partner dances. She began partner dancing in 2014, and has since competed at collegiate ballroom events, completed certifications in multiple dance courses, and taught classes all over North America - from San Francisco to Playa Del Carmen. Her preferred styles of dance are Brazilian zouk and bachata, but she also dances samba de gafieira, salsa, West Coast Swing, forró, while dabbling in many others. The nickname “Rhinestone” refers to her love for sparkly accessories, but also to her constant development of inner sparkle and inspiration. She is a passionate advocate for body positivity and acceptance, and she loves to incorporate this into her teaching so that people of all body types can learn to dance! She also blogs about body positivity, mental health, and personal growth (therhinestone.medium.com). In 2019, she visited DC for a weekend event and fell in love with the welcoming atmosphere and dedication of the local dancers. After a few years, she finally took the leap and moved cross-country to join the District Zouk core team! She is very excited about getting to learn alongside their phenomenal instructors and to help further grow the incredible community in DC.